What we Never Said
by dream.love.live
Summary: She comes back injured and disappears: the race is on. Will he find her in time? Will he finally win her heart? INOSHIKA
1. Chapter 1

She opened her eyes slowly, only to shut them right back. She waited a few minutes before risking it again; this time slower. White. Everywhere. White sheets, white wall, white ceiling and floor. A sigh escaped her lips as she realised where she was, the only place that was all white.

The hospital.

She leaned her head back down and ran her hand through her blond hair; the more she thought about it the more she remembered. She had gone on what was supposed to be a fairly easy mission: get a scroll and come back. However, things never work out the way they should. They (obviously) got ambushed by a big lot of rogue shinobis. Not only were they outnumbered but they were also a very strange team composition. Instead of the usual team ten, their chubby team-mate had been replaced by Suna's representative: none other than Temari. Said sand-nin got very reckless during the battle and rushed in on her own and was immediately injured, which of course meant that Shikamaru lost all of his concentration as he rushed toward the fallen blond. As a result she had to jump in and save their sorry asses. Of course short range combat wasn't her forte and as a last attempt she used a very secret Yamanaka technique that the copy-nin had agreed, although reluctantly, to teach her. She was very close to exhaustion when, by sheer luck, Genma's ANBU squad were passing by and ended up saving the day. She had passed out shortly after the senbon user's squad had arrived, due to chakra depletion, thus why she was in the hospital right now.

_I wonder who had to carry me back, surely not Shikamaru; he was way too preoccupied with her to even see me. _She thought somewhat bitterly.

A voice interrupted her bitter train of thoughts: "I see you're finally awake."

She pushed herself upward and stared at the other occupant of the room. She smiled when she saw the Copy-nin sitting crossed legged on the bed facing her with his ever so famous book in his hand. He was in his normal jounin attire, which means he wasn't injured; so why was he in the hospital?

"Why hello Kakashi-sensei, what brings you here on this fine day?" she asked smugly. She had a small idea that the real reason he was there involved a certain pink haired medic.

"Been waiting for a certain blond to wake up." He answered putting his book down.

"Why? To scold me? " She asked half-jokingly.

He sighed as he got up and place the book back into his pouch. "Ino, you have to be more careful. I agreed to teach you the mind crush technique against your father's wishes. It's a technique that drains a lot of chakra and you have to be careful while using it. You're lucky Genma's team had a medic otherwise you'd already be dead by now. " He said more serious than she had ever heard him,

"I know, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking straight…." She admitted with shame. "How long was I out?"

"You've been here for about 4 days. "

"Oh shit…" she muttered.

"You don't say. While you were sleeping, I was getting scolded by every single person that came to see you and knew I was the one to teach you that jutsu! "He whined.

"And you deserve every single word." said a third voice that had just entered the room. "Glad to see you're okay Ino."

Said blond turned her head to see her best-friend for years and her newer quieter Hyuga friend. They were both wearing their medical coats, meaning this was not a friendly visit but more a professional one.

"You gave us quite a scare Ino, when I saw Genma carrying your lifeless form I thought for sure we had already lost you. "

_So I was right, it wasn't him who carried me back…_

"Anyways we have a lot of work on our hand, Hinata?"

"Yes, please try to relax Ino-chan while I check your chakra level. You reserve were quite depleted when you arrived . " She activated her family heirloom and took a quick look. "They seem to be up, but still not perfect. I recommend that you don't use any chakra for another day or two until you're back to normal levels. " She said with a soft smile.

A nurse came bursting into the room, interrupting the heiress's speech. "I'm very sorry Haruno-san, but we need Hyuga-sama in the delivery room now."

The indigo haired girl bid her goodbyes and rushed out of the room hot on the nurse's tail.

"She seems to be adjusting well to the doctor role." Said Ino, hoping to divert the subject from her case.

"Yeah, she's a really big help and she loves to be in the delivery room. But we aren't here to talk about Hinata. " She said turning her attention back to her best-friend. "Although everything else looks good I'm gonna have to ask you to stay here until you're all clear. And **you!** " She said turning to her old sensei with a murderous glare. "To show how grateful you are to me for not ratting you out to her parents, you are going to keep her company and make sure she has everything she needs. And no smut! " She yelled while snatching the book away that he had pulled out at some point of time.

"Yes ma'Am. " he answered giving her an eye crinkle.

"Say Sakura… " Started Ino in a low voice. "By any chance did _he _come to visit me once? "

The pink haired medic's face darkened a little and she answered in an equally low voice: "I'm sorry Ino…"

She plastered a fake smile on her face and started rambling: "Oh no big deal right? Hey I really need to go outside… alone…Can I go to the flower shop to change? I'll be right back promise and you know it's really close and all…." She said designating her white pyjama pants and purple tank top.

"I'm really not supposed to let you out yet…" she answered with a sigh. She took another look at her friend, the usually so strong headed sitting on her hospital bed ready to burst out in tears at any moment. "But, since the flower shop is right next door I guess I can make an exception. Kakashi help her up, she hasn't walked in four days so we'll wheel her to the door. "

"Yes ma'am." He said helping the youngest Yamanaka out of her bed.

"You are so whipped." she muttered while he was helping her into the wheelchair.

"Hey you're her best friend, you know how freakingly strong she is. And I happened to like my face the way it is now. "He whispered.

They both accompanied her downstairs, she got up wobbling a little, promised Sakura to come back in 20 minutes top and turned around to leave. As soon as she exited the hospital and started walking on the road she realised she wasn't wearing any shoes.

_Oh well. _She thought suddenly in a brighter mood at the she breathed the fresh hair and felt the wind on her face.

She walked slowly towards her family's shop, stumbling at every step but never falling. After what seemed like an eternity, even though it was only a few minutes, the flower shop was finally in her sight. The smile on her face quickly vanished however when she saw who was standing in front of said shop.

_What is Temari still doing here? Shouldn't she be back in Suna? Well I have to go in one way or another… _She thought, but as she was about to start walking again, he walked out of said shop holding a huge bouquet of red roses.

_No, it can't be! They have to be for his mother, or Kurenai, or Asuma. No! I mean he's way too lazy to take her out on a date right? Right?_

And just like in a melodramatic movie all of his actions seemed to be in slow motion as he offered the sand princess the flowers. She took the flowers from her blushing lazy team-mate's hand and a small blush of her own crept on her face; this was most definitely a date. Tears started gathering up in her eyes, she wanted to run away as far and fast as possible but legs refused to listen to her.

_I have to get out of here! _Screamed her mind.

As if they sensed that someone was watching them only a few feet away both turned to face the stunned blond clad in her pyjamas in the middle of the street. Shikamaru was the first one to react and walked towards her asking: "Ino? What are you doing here? "

She opened her mouth to say something; anything! As he continued approaching her and tears started cascading down her face freely.

"Ino? You okay? Shouldn't you still be in the hospital? " he asked almost caringly as he was standing at arm's length.

She shook her head vehemently to make the tears go away and without realising it her hands quickly started forming seals.

When he realised what she was doing it was already too late: "No Ino! You're not-" before he could finish she had vanished in a swirl of black rose petals. "Black petals? Usually they're red…" he muttered.

She stumbled in an all too familiar place. Why was she here? Was it because she was thinking about him too much? A cough fit attacked her and blood started dripping down her mouth, she tried to move but her leg gave out and she fell head first in the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

If looks could kill, he would've died the minute that Sakura saw him. He had explained what had happened and her look had only darkened even more, somehow he knew it was his fault. With a deep sigh she turned around to the gray haired man that was following her.

"Send you hounds out Kakashi, if she used her chakra she's most likely unconscious somewhere in Konoha. "

Without even arguing he quickly performed the necessary hand signs and the pack appeared in front of them.

"What can we do for you boss? " asked the small pug.

"Ino's missing, she's very low on chakra and most likely unconscious. Find her." He ordered his nin-dogs before the all disappeared. Once they were off only did the lazy ninja decide to speak up.

"Do you want us to help? "

Again with the murderous look. "No it's fine. Kakashi's dog will find her, plus wouldn't want to bother you on your **date.** " She said bitterly before turning around and back to do her rounds; copy-nin in tow.

A sigh escaped his lips as guilt washed over him, before he could think too much of it someone grabbed his hand and pulled him so hard he almost lost his balance.

"Come on! " said the bossy voice of the sand princess. "You heard her; your teammate will be fine so let's go!"

He looked at Temari and another wave of guilt washed over him. She looked so happy and so hopeful; it pained him a little to have to destroy all of her expectations so very soon. He had only agreed to go on a date with her because his mother kept nagging him to get a wife, but the truth was she wasn't who he wanted to be with…

"I'm sorry Temari, but I'm tired. I think I'll head back home…" he said rubbing his neck awkwardly.

"Well I'll come with you, I mean it's not like I have anywhere else to be and I am going to need some water for these flowers; so let's go!" she said grabbing his arm and pulling him along.

_How troublesome… this woman is so persistent and bossy…_

* * *

Something was nudging her, trying to hoist her up onto something so very soft.

_I have to help them! Open your eyes Ino!_

If only she could open her eyes or her mouth she could tell them what happened and tell them to go get Sakura. If only….

* * *

As soon as they stepped into the compound he could sense something was horribly wrong. In all of his 18 years of life, he had never seen that many deer gathered around the compound. They seemed to be reckless, which only increased his stress level. He started walking faster until he finally spotted his father who was preparing his medical kit and weapon pouch.

"Dad! What's wrong with the deer?" he asked.

"I don't know for sure, I reckon one of them is seriously injured somewhere in the forest. Grab the medical kit I might need your help."

He stopped himself from muttering his usual phrase and quickly grabbed the medical kit. As he was running after his father and the deer they were following, he started to wonder what could have happened. Could it be Hidan? No, he would have felt his chakra… His genius brain starting imagining all of the possibilities and the most logical one he could come up with was that a fawn was probably injured.

In theory, all of his guesses could have been right; unfortunately none were. Even with his 200+ IQ he could have never guessed, or be prepared for that matter, to what was waiting for him. Ino was sprawled on the ground, blood dripping out of her mouth and her hair all messed up. However, believe it or not, that wasn't what was bothering him the most; it was her tear strained face that made his heart clenched. Once again he had made her cry.

"Why are you just standing there, son? Hurry and help me! "

His father's voice snapped him out of his train of thoughts and he quickly came back to his senses. In the end, they were right; one of the deer had twisted his ankle. By the looks of it, it had tried to hoist Ino on its back, since they knew who she was they were probably trying to save her.

"Grab Ino and take her to the hospital; I'll take care of the deer. " said his father in an urgent tone.

While it is a known fact around Konoha that Shikamaru Nara is a very lazy person and usually avoid doing any work when he can; anyone that saw him run that day wouldn't be able to confirm that statement. Never in his life had he run so fast, but this was different from any other situation; Ino was hurt and it was because of him. The feeling of guilt that plagued him was simply unbearable, all of the times he had hurt her were unintentional; he did care for her quite a lot. It took him only a few minutes to cross the village and arrive at the hospital and a few seconds before he spotted the pink haired medic.

"Sakura! " he cried out a little desperately.

Both the copy-nin and the medic turned around at the sound of the cry and in a nanosecond Ino was placed on a stretcher and Sakura's hand started glowing the all too familiar green. As he watched them take the blond beauty away from him, he felt a pang in his heart. He needed to make sure that she was okay, but didn't want anyone one to see him. It was time to use his newest technique; he stepped back and quietly slipped into the shadows. He had invented that jutsu after witnessing Ino's Mind Hoping jutsu, just as she jumped mind he jumped shadows. He jumped shadows until he was in her room and could look over her peaceful face. As much as admitting it made him sound like a stalker, he often did use that technique when he wanted to make sure she was alright.

"She'll be fine; she just needs to rest properly this time. We better leave her alone so she can sleep. " said the pink haired girl in the room.

"Hai, why don't you go get your coat Sakura and I'll walk you home. " said the copy-nin with a small smile and a reassuring shoulder squeeze.

She nodded weakly before exiting the room; the copy-nin turned around to face the bed and started doing a few hand signs.

_What in the world is he doing? _Thought the young Nara, the hand signs were executed much too quickly for him to realise what was going on. Before he even had time to ponder any further the copy-nin's gloved hand reached into the shadow, grabbed his collar and yanked him out of his hiding place.


	3. Chapter 3

As he was dragged out of the comfort of the shadows, Shikamaru briefly wondered how in the world Kakashi had known he was there.

"I'm just any low rank shinobi Shikamaru; I could sense your presence the moment you stepped into this shadow." said Kakashi very seriously, answering his unspoken question. "If you want to visit your team-mate, then how about you do it like everyone else; by the front door. She'll be waking up in a few minutes; maybe you should stick around to talk to her. " He said before exiting the room.

Once he was alone in the room he slumped down on the chair next to the bed. What had he done? Kakashi was right, if he wanted to see Ino why couldn't he do it like everyone else? They used to be so close and now they were slowly drifting apart. Resigning himself he sat down in the chair next to her bed and stared at her face. With the years she had slowly turned from a cute girl to a gorgeous woman; that no one could deny it. He briefly wondered how many kunoichi missions she had been on, but pushed those thoughts away when he noticed he was getting frustrated.

He couldn't pinpoint the exact time where he started to feel that way about her, they were always together so it was hard for him to notice when his feelings switched from friendship to something more. But instead of trying to get closer to her and make her notice his feelings, he started putting some distance between them; more and more each day. Call him a coward or an idiot; but in his mind that was what he thought to be the right decision at that time. A sigh escaped his lips as he leaned into the chair and closed his eyes; he'd wait for a few minutes and then leave if she didn't wake up.

**About half an hour later…**

As she opened her eyes a sense of déjà-vu hit her when she saw the white walls surrounding her, propping herself up with her elbows she tried to sit up; but quickly lay back down as her arms gave out. She let a sigh escape her lips as she closed her eyes again; she briefly wondered out in the world she had gotten in the hospital in the first place, last she remembered she was in the Nara forest. She was pulled out of her reverie by the sound of someone moving next to her. She opened her eyes and turned her head, only to be great by the sight of two lazy charcoal eyes staring back at her.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on you date?" she spat out angrily.

"Ino, please don't start this now…" he said pinching his nose in annoyance. "I just came to see you alright?"

"Starting what?! Excuse me for not wanting to spend time with you! Besides, I'm sure your girlfriend wouldn't be too happy to know you came to visit me. " she said angrily turning back her head to look at the ceiling; she was starting to be emotional and had to calm herself to avoid starting to bawl in front of him once again.

"She's not my girlfriend, I just took her out on a date because my mom keeps nagging me to get a wife and…"

"So why did you ask her? Why not me? " she yelled interrupting him.

"Stop yelling Ino, you're my friend and…"

"I'm just your friend then why did you kiss me!" she said yelling again; but she didn't care anymore she just wanted to let him know how she felt. "Before we left for that stupid mission you kissed me! Do you do that to all your friends? Or did you do it to make me believe that you actually cared for me? That you actually felt something for me more than friendship? That I actually had a chance with you?! Why would you do that and then destroy all my hopes in a fraction of a second; what have I done to deserve that kind of treatment from you Shikamaru? " She yelled franticly.

"Ino…" he started, pondering his next words carefully. The truth was that he had never meant to hurt her, the reason he had kissed her was because he wanted to. But then he started to think that maybe he had ruined their friendship by doing so and started regretting it. He was usually so full of confidence, but every time he came to Ino his brain started to go into full retard mode.

"You know, after you kissed me. " she started in a softer voice from before; obviously having put a break on her emotions. "For a minute there I thought that maybe you weren't so out of my league as I thought you were, that maybe I had a shot after all…"

"Out of your league?" he blurted how; what the hell was she talking about?

She let out a dry laugh before answering him: "Come on Shikamaru, don't tell me you haven't notice the difference between us? I mean it was always there, but lately the gap is growing more and more! You're a jounin and you've become as good a strategist as your father; if not better! And don't tell me you haven't notice the way girls look at you; they're practically drooling every time they see you. Not to mention that you have an I.Q of over 200! I mean, right now you're probably Konoha's top bachelor! " she exclaimed. "But then you look at me, and realise that I'm just this really plain girl. I passed the Chunin exam; but that's only because my opponents were easy, certainly not because I'm all that good I don't possess nearly half the skills Sakura does. And sure I'm not ugly or anything, but compared to Hinata's natural beauty; I'm nothing. And everyone knows that I'm no genius; I can't even understand that stupid board game you play all the time! "

"Ino please…" He started once more. She had it all wrong, why did she think so poorly of herself; why couldn't she see how amazing she was? All of her qualities came rushing into his head, but instead of saying any out loud he kept staring at her dumbfounded.

"Can you please leave now Shikamaru, I'd like to be alone for a while. You can come back later if you still want; but if I'm really your friend as you say, then do this for me and leave please. " she said as she painfully turned on her side to face the well.

He sighed and tried to say something, but the words got stuck in his throat. He decided that for once he would do as she asked; and he would come back once he knew what to say. He got up and quietly left the room, looking one last time at her back facing him. As soon as she heard the door close she let out a breath of relief and rolled once again on her back. She looked outside her window and noticed that the night had fallen, carefully getting out of her bed she made her way to the window. She opened it and jumped out before anyone could see her, and closed the window to avoid suspicion. Anyway, at this time of day Sakura had probably returned home. She quickly leaped to the roof and sat down to stare at the stars; it was something that had always had a soothing effect on her; exactly what she needed right now…


	4. Epilogue

He closed the door behind him and started walking down the corridor when he noticed another familiar blond sitting on a bench.

"What are you doing here?" he blurted out; having temporarily forgotten that they were supposed to be on a date.

"It was taking you a long time, so I figured I'd drop by to see why." she answered getting up.

"Ah well, I just wanted to check on her." he said nervously scratching the back of his head. "Eum, about the date-"

"It's fine." She said calmly standing in front of him. "I realized that you really weren't my type in the end."

"Huh?"

"There's really no point in me trying to chase after you when you are so hopelessly in love with her. I should have given up a while ago, but I kept hoping that maybe you would give up. The last mission made me realize that it was never going to happen; I'm sorry for behaving so recklessly. Well, I'll be going now; good luck!"

And without another word she turned around and walked away; leaving him standing dumbfounded in the corridor wondering what had just happened. He shook his head and decided to try talking to Ino again; he just couldn't leave things the way they were now! He turned back around and entered her bedroom again; only to find it empty.

His heart stopped for a fraction of a second until he realized that the window was opened. With a smile he made for the window and hopped outside to the roof where, as he had expected, a blond kunoichi was sitting, staring at the stars. Without waiting for her acknowledgment he sat down beside her, she turned around with a startled; she had not been expecting company. It was then that he notice her tear stained face and cursed himself for making her cry yet again.

"What are you doing here?" she asked pointedly.

Still unable to find the right words he only gave her a small shrug as a response.

"God! You are so frustrating!" She yelled getting up.

Without thinking he grabbed her wrist and pulled her down on her lap; he would not let her escape this time. "Wait." he whispered in her ear. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for perhaps what would be the most embarrassing speech of his life. "I always thought you were the one out of my league." he started. "I think you are the most gorgeous woman I have ever met, and I've thought so for a very long time. And let's say that maybe you're not officially a Jounin yet; but everyone knows that the kind of work you do at the Intel department is of Jounin level. And don't ever call yourself stupid; I don't care if you don't understand Shogi, I like teaching you." he marked a paused and waited to see if she would say anything, but she kept her head buried in his chest. He started rubbing her hair and continued: " I kissed you that day because I felt like it, but then I realized that you may hate me for it and I started to resent myself. I'm the reason why you got injured in that battle, and I figured that I had lost all my chances with you; thus the reason why I figured I might as well go out with Temari..."

"I've been in love with you for more than half my life; you think I would get mad at you for something so ridiculous..." she whispered still buried in his chest. "You're not much of a genius are you?" she said with a chuckle before lifting her head. The tears were gone and instead a smile graced her beautiful face.

"I guess I'm not." he answered with a smile. He tightened his hold around her and kissed her forehead. "Say Ino; will you go out on a date with me?" he asked with a smile.


End file.
